People Matter

Staff Software Engineer (Backend)

Karius

Karius

Software Engineering
Redwood City, CA, USA · United States · Remote
Posted on Nov 14, 2023
About Karius
Karius is a venture-backed life science startup focused on transforming the way infectious diseases are diagnosed. Combining Next-Generation Sequencing and proprietary data analysis, we can identify over 1,000 pathogens from a single blood sample with typical turnaround time in one business day. By unlocking the information present in microbial cell-free DNA, we're helping doctors quickly solve their most challenging cases, with a future vision of accelerating clinical trials, discovering new microbes, and reducing patient suffering worldwide.
Position Summary
We are building and operating a unique software stack of cloud infrastructure, software services, APIs, web and mobile interactive interfaces, and AI-driven data analytics pipelines to deliver life-saving results in the highly complex infectious disease landscape. We believe the success of Karius’ products is driven by both our unique technology and the elegance of the software solution. We seek talented and passionate individuals who want to be part of this impactful journey of reaching the team’s ambitious goals, far beyond what any single individual could accomplish.
As a Staff Software Engineer in this space, your primary focus will be architecting, developing and maintaining the backend software and infrastructure to execute Karius Lab Diagnostics software in commercial and research setup.
Why Should You Join Karius?
Karius aims to conquer infectious diseases through innovations around genomic sequencing and machine learning. The company’s platform is already delivering unprecedented insights into the microbial landscape, providing clinicians with a comprehensive test capable of identifying more than a thousand pathogens directly from blood, and helping industry accelerate the development of therapeutic solutions. The Karius test we provide today is one of the most advanced solutions available to physicians who aim to deliver better care to many otherwise ineffectively treated patients. Our test is the result of some incredible work done by our scientists, statisticians, engineers, and physicians, all driven by the same mission. You, as part of the Karius team, will be able to see how directly your work has a life-changing impact on people, and at scale.
Reports to: Sr. Director of Software Engineering
Location: Remote / Redwood City, CA
Primary Responsibilities
• Own the design and development of backend software services that drive the Karius genomics lab workflows and related business processes to generate life-saving diagnostic reports.
• Follow Domain Driven Design to clearly document the system architecture, service design and the interfaces.
• Ensure the software services meet expected quality gates by developing unit and functional tests.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams such as Lab Operations, Customer Success, Product Management and Quality Engineering, and follow the defined Engineering SDLC to deliver value to the customers and users.
• Contribute to the engineering organization’s technical efforts such as design and code review, technology evaluations and development of proof of concepts.
• Provide production support of diagnostics software services.
• Contribute to advancing a culture of a high-performing team by having close collaboration and engagement with the rest of the engineering team in solving challenges as they arise.
Position Requirements
First and foremost, you are energized and motivated by the opportunity to build an elegant software. You enjoy seeing your creation work like a clock positively impacting thousands of people every year. You crave tough challenges in a super technical and collaborative environment that requires creativity and vision to navigate complex and ambiguous problems.
In addition, you will be able to present:
• BS or MS degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related technical fields involving algorithms and coding.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including designing, developing and maintaining backend solutions in a production environment.
• A deep understanding of various system architectural patterns, such as event driven microservices, and a strong hands on experience with related technologies such as Kafka.
• Expert level experience with Typescript/javaScript backend stack using frameworks such as Express, Nest.js, Node.js.
• Practical examples of complex system data modeling and servicing using REST, GraphQL, no-SQL/SQL databases & ORMs.
• Experience with DevOps culture using cloud computing in AWS, Azure or GCP.
• A deep understanding of and hands-on experience with the software deployment and operation using containerization technologies like Docker and container management like Kubernetes.
• Experience with development lifecycle management tools like Jira, Confluence, git
As a big plus, experience in healthcare, life sciences or other regulated industries.
Personal Qualifications
• Passionate, purpose-driven, and excited about Karius’ mission.
• Mastered your craft yet eager to learn and grow.
• Demonstrated ability to tackle complex problems.
• Ability to work independently but also be an excellent team player.
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently in a fast paced (startup) environment.
What’s Fun About the Job?
Karius is operating at the edge of what is now known to be possible in infectious disease diagnostics. With that, comes a wave of new and incredible challenges and opportunities. To deliver on that value, you will be tapping into some of the most advanced technologies, architecting and innovating where the current solutions simply don't suffice. You will get to see how much your work really matters.
Travel: No travel required.
Physical Requirements
Subject to extended periods of sitting and/or standing, vision to monitor and moderate noise levels. Work is generally performed in an office environment.
At Karius, we value a diverse and inclusive workplace and provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees and are committed to honor and invest in the full diversity of people, in our hiring, recruiting and development of employees across the Company. All qualified applicants for employment are encouraged to apply and will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity and gender expression (including transgender individuals who are transitioning, have transitioned, or are perceived to be transitioning to the gender with which they identify), religion, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. If you are unable to submit your application due to a disability, please contact us at recruiting@kariusdx.com and we will accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities.